Lawyers who supported victims suing the Metropolitan police for failing to investigate black cab rapist John Worboys are also supporting women allegedly attacked by Mohamed Al-Fayed.
Philippa Kaufman KC joined the legal team investigating whether police had a duty to do more to bring Mr Fayed to justice when the allegations against him were made.
Since the BBC documentary Al Fayed: The Harrods Predator Since the programme aired last Thursday, more than 100 women have contacted the law firm which represents five women who say they were raped by Fayed when he owned Harrods, as well as other women who have made allegations of sexual misconduct.
Emma Jones, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, said a public inquiry may also be needed to understand whether some of the allegations against Fayed had been “covered up”.
Fayed, who died last year aged 94, faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault dating back to 1995 and his defence team is investigating whether police breached human rights laws by failing to properly investigate the allegations.
Vanity Fair The magazine made allegations against Mr Fayed in 1995, followed by ITV's Big Story In 1997, four women came forward to allege that they had been sexually harassed.
Then in 2009, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute Fayed after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at Harrods. A further investigation in 2015 also did not result in any charges.
“The test is not just what the officers knew, but what reasonable officers should have known,” Jones said. “Given how many times this issue has surfaced and the seriousness of the allegations, we have to ask ourselves what they should have known. And that is [the question]Did they know about it and cover it up?
Jones said hearing from the women would help the investigation even if they did not want to pursue the charges.
Dean Armstrong, a lawyer representing the women involved, said “over 100, probably as many as 150” had come forward so far and said it was “deeply disappointing” that public figures were only speaking about Fayed's actions after his death.
Former Home Secretary Jack Straw rejected Fayed's application for British citizenship in 1999, saying he had “general defects of character” and last week said the Egyptian businessman was a “bully”. Gaute Haugenes, former manager of Fulham Football Club's women's team, said his team “protected” its players because “we knew he liked young, blonde girls”.
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“Jack Straw came out this morning, I've seen the reports, he's talking about why he was not granted citizenship,” Armstrong told Sky News yesterday. “These issues have been publicly revealed by Fulham Football Club and it's a huge shame for me but even more shameful, particularly for all the poor women who have suffered because of him, that these issues could have been spoken about a little earlier.”
“Unfortunately, those who did not speak up should be criticised, especially those in public office, because many women felt intimidated, scared and isolated and therefore did not speak up. However, this was not the case for many other prominent people who were able to speak up.”
Armstrong added that Fayed's case was “certainly an area for public investigation.” “It is my opinion that it is of enormous public interest that a system in place at arguably the most prestigious retailer in the country, if not the world, should have gone unmonitored for so many years,” he said, referring to allegations that Fayed's predatory behaviour included walking around Harrods with male colleagues to pick out female staff they wanted to target.
“The retail store was sold shortly after the deaths as no charges were brought forward but more importantly, many women were brave and courageous enough to speak out, leading to many people in the public eye coming forward and deciding to corroborate those facts in effect,” he said.
